30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 147: Unexpected Engagement

Alex Carter could thank Ethan on her behalf, and Ethan was her former benefactor. She needed to draw a clear line where it was necessary.

Recalling Ethan’s silent departure just moments ago, Lily felt a deep discomfort in her heart.

That was so unlike him.

He was always the type to shout, rage, and throw violent tantrums, hitting and kicking things when angry...

When did he start acting like this?

Without pulling out her IV, Lily sat in bed. Alex helped her adjust the pillow, supporting her so that she could lean comfortably against the headboard.

"I’m sorry," Alex said, sitting by her bedside and looking at her with guilt. "If I hadn’t insisted you go to that class reunion, none of this would have happened."

According to the police investigation, the cold air in the changing room could have killed someone in under ten minutes.

Fortunately, the changing room initially had a functioning heater, and she had managed to break a window, buying herself some time.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine what he would do if she had actually frozen to death in front of him...

He couldn’t lose her.

He absolutely couldn’t.

"You just wanted to surprise me and have everyone wish us well," Lily forced a smile, reaching out to take Alex’s hand. "I don’t blame you. Before everything went wrong, I was thrilled."

But what followed had been too terrifying.

She had almost died.

"Lily, do you know?"

Alex gripped her hand in return. His palm was warm, even sweaty, showing how nervous he was. He gazed at her intently, word by word, "Lily, you can’t leave me. I can’t lose you."

Alex’s tenderness and affection were always the most moving.

She knew he was nervous... scared...

"I’m fine now, aren’t I?" Lily smiled as she tried to comfort him. "What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I’m a lucky person."

"I’m not just talking about your life."

"What?"

"No matter how or why... don’t ever leave me," Alex said, lowering his head and kissing her hand, his pale lips trembling slightly.

The moment she heard Ethan had saved her, she had wanted to get out of bed and chase after him...

Her instinctive reaction had scared Alex to the core.

"Alex..." Lily stared at him in shock.

"Lily, if I lose you, I will die," Alex kissed her hand again, lifting his gaze to hers, his expression unusually serious and obsessive.

Lily felt a jolt in her heart, her smile slightly stiff. "Don’t say that."

"You know I’m not kidding." Alex closed his eyes briefly and continued, "Do you know what I went through to find you these past nine years? If you leave me again, I can’t wait through another nine."

"Alex..."

Alex’s words were so intense that they left Lily unsettled as if he were implying something deeper. "Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Alex smiled and shook his head.

For some reason, looking at him like this, Lily suddenly felt a sense of overwhelming heaviness, as if something was pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe, nearly suffocating her.

"Knock knock—"

The already open door to the hospital room was lightly tapped twice.

Lynn stood at the doorway, holding a bouquet of lilies, her expression guilty. Behind her were a few female classmates, all looking solemn.

Seeing them made Lily’s mood plummet.

Alex glanced at Lily and then coldly at the girls at the door. Normally, a gentleman didn’t even greet them, his gaze indifferent.

The fact that Lily had gotten into trouble in the changing room...

It couldn’t have been anyone but these classmates. In his rush to check Lily’s condition earlier, he hadn’t had time to speak in detail with the police.

"Get well soon," Lynn said as the girls nudged her into the room. She awkwardly placed the lilies on the bedside table, forcing a smile. "Lily, how are you feeling?"

Lily, with a cold expression, extended her hand toward her. "Where’s my phone?"

Lynn quickly handed it over without a word.

"Was it fun?" Lily asked, her voice icy as she glanced at the girls behind Lynn. "What did I ever do to you? Why did you have to try and kill me? Do you think having someone’s life on your hands is fun?"

Lily’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

None of the girls dared to say a word until one finally murmured, barely audible, "How were we supposed to know she’d take it so far?"

She?!

Lily and Alex exchanged a glance, both filled with the same suspicion.

Alex stood up, his tone cold as he asked, "Who told you to do it?"

"Fine, I’ll just say it. If I don’t, you’ll think it was all our idea!" As if making a firm decision, Lynn stomped her foot and confessed everything. "It was Alice Johnson. She cried before us, saying how much she still loved Alex."

"She wanted to make one last attempt at the reunion, to show off in front of Alex, and asked us to lock Lily up so she wouldn’t get in the way."

Lily was speechless.

Alice Johnson?! So, she still hadn’t given up on Alex.

Loved him enough to kill her rival?!

"And then?" Alex asked, shocked even more than Lily.

"Alice gave each of us a designer bag, and since we didn’t like Lily much anyway, we agreed to help her."

By the time she finished, Lynn’s confidence had faded entirely. "We only intended to lock you in the changing room temporarily. We had no idea Alice would do something like that."

Didn’t like her?

They didn’t like her, so they thought pulling such a cruel stunt was okay?

"What did I ever do to make you dislike me?" Lily asked coldly. "I only attended that school for a short time in middle school. What gave you such a bad impression?"

"Lily, don’t act like you don’t remember how stuck-up you were back then. All the boys, including Alex, were fawning over you. You were like some annoying little butterfly and never hung out with any of the girls."

Lynn looked at her and sneered. "Every time you saw us, you’d give us that fake smile. You were so phony it made people sick. How could anyone like you? At least Alice knows how to be genuine!"

Such a massive bucket of filth had just been dumped on her.

Lily was stunned, unable to find a single word to refute it.

Had she really been that fake back then?

She had always thought... she had done well, smiling at everyone...

But to her classmates, she had just been pretending.

"Have you said enough?!"

Alex’s voice suddenly cut through the room, cold and harsh. "You were just jealous of how popular Lily was back then. Is that why you pulled this sick prank? If you didn’t like her, you could’ve just refused to help me plan the surprise."

At his words, Lynn, who had just moments ago been full of righteous indignation, fell silent and stepped back.

Lily sat quietly on the bed for a long time before finally lifting her head, her face calm. "If I take Alice to court, will you testify?"

Lynn and the other girls said nothing.

In their social circle, it was best not to offend anyone. Testifying in court would have dragged them into a messy situation. They had come to the hospital in the first place, hoping Lily wouldn’t press charges.

"Alice didn’t even show up at the reunion. She’ll just deny everything."

"Exactly. If we go to court, Alice might walk free while we get dragged down with her."

"Lily, come on, we were all classmates. Don’t make this too harsh, okay?"

"How about we compensate you with some money?"

"Yeah, you seem fine now anyway!"

The speed with which they changed their tune was remarkable. Lily let out a cold laugh. "If I’m such a fake person, why should I let you off the hook?"

"Get out, all of you!"

A loud roar suddenly rang out from the doorway.

Lily turned to see her father standing at the door, glaring furiously at the girls. "Get out! I’ll make sure every one of you gets taken to court!"

Lynn and the other girls bolted as her father, Henry Anderson, chased them out.

"Dad..." Lily bit her lip. In truth, she didn’t plan to sue the girls. The natural person who had tried to harm her was Alice. Still, without solid evidence, she couldn’t do anything about it.

So, what was the point of wasting her time?

"Alex, you get out too!" Henry shouted, pointing at Alex.

"Uncle Henry..."

"Dad, don’t! This has nothing to do with Alex," Lily quickly intervened.

"If it’s not his fault, then whose is it?" Henry glared at Alex furiously. "His so-called fiancée nearly killed my daughter."

"I’m sorry, Uncle," Alex said apologetically. "I will handle everything. I won’t let Lily get hurt again."

"Alex, I’ll give you two options right now," Henry said, his voice filled with anger. "Either you break up with my daughter, or you marry her immediately to put an end to your fiancée’s delusions."

"Marriage?!" Lily’s eyes widened in shock.

Why was her father suddenly talking about marriage?

Technically, she and Alex had only been officially dating for a few days.

"That’s right, those are your only two options." Henry was clearly forcing their hand, his eyes dark with calculation.

"We’re only twenty-two. It’s too soon," Lily quickly said, not allowing Alex to speak. "And Alex only recently broke off his engagement with Alice. If we get married now, the media will tear him apart."

"Lily, why are you still concerned about his reputation at a time like this?" Henry ignored her and turned directly to Alex. "Well? Give me an answer."

"Fine. Once Lily is discharged, we’ll register the marriage," Alex replied without hesitation.

He didn’t care about his public image as a corporate heir. More than anything, he wanted to be with Lily.

Lily wanted to object, but it was clear the two men had no interest in hearing her opinion.

"Is my daughter not worthy of the spotlight?" Henry grew angrier. "Next weekend is Carter Group’s centennial celebration. I want you to announce your engagement then. I want the whole world to know my daughter is marrying into the Carter family."

Alex hesitated for only a second before nodding. "Alright."

"Now that’s more like a man."

Seeing Alex’s quick agreement, Henry’s expression softened. "Daughter, I’m going to get you some porridge."

Once her father left, Lily frowned at Alex. "Why did you agree so quickly? You know your father doesn’t like me. He won’t approve."

"Then we won’t tell him. I’ll just announce the engagement at the centennial celebration."

Alex smiled, holding her hand. "This way, he won’t be able to stop us."

"He’ll be furious." Alex had always cared deeply about his family. If this led to turmoil within the Carter family... wouldn’t that be her fault?

"Once we’re married, I’ll work on mending things with him."

Alex smiled gently.

After Alex left to change his clothes and her father stepped out to make a call, the hospital room fell silent, leaving Lily alone. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Curling on the bed, she hugged her knees and stared out the window at the sunlight, her eyes devoid of any spark...

After the changing room incident, her father forced Alex to marry her, and Alex agreed...

Her childhood dream was about to come true.

She was finally going to walk down the aisle with Alex...

So why didn’t she feel pleased? Instead, there was a strange, unsettling feeling in her heart...

It was as if every step she took was being pushed forward, everything falling into place a little too perfectly.